New management options such as prophylaxis have been introduced and new treatment choices in the form of longer acting factor concentrates are on the horizon. In the current clinical environment, inhibitor formation continues to be a major complication in the treatment of patients with haemophilia. Prevention and eradication have therefore become a major focus of clinical and scientific investigation. This supplement is based on an international haemophilia meeting held on 21 September 2013 in Barcelona, Spain, and sponsored by Grifols

S.A. The meeting brought together leading haemophilia and bleeding disorder experts from around the world to discuss advances in BTK inhibitor datasheet inhibitor prevention and optimization of immune tolerance induction (ITI) therapy in patients with haemophilia learn more A and inhibitors. The meeting consisted of three main sessions: The first session featured novel investigations which reinforce the protective role of factor VIII (FVIII)/von Willebrand factor complex in inhibitor development, with presentations by P.M. Mannucci (Milan, Italy), Q. Shi (Milwaukee, WI, USA), S. Bonanad (Valencia, Spain) and R. Klamroth (Berlin, Germany). The second session covered choice of ITI therapy for optimal management of inhibitor patients from both a clinical and pharmacoeconomic perspective, and featured discussions by J.

Oldenburg (Bonn, Germany), S. Austin (London, UK), and C. Kessler (Washington DC, USA). In the final session of the meeting, new predictive approaches for ITI management were discussed by G. Di Minno (Naples, Italy), E. Santagostino (Milan, Italy), K. Pratt (Bethesda, MD, USA) and C. Königs MCE (Frankfurt, Germany). These latter two contributors

presented novel investigators that assist in understanding the immunological response in ITI, a topic that has gained significance in recent years and an area that is anticipated to provide the basis for more targeted and individualized therapy in the future. The author received an honorarium from Grifols S.A. for participating in the international meeting and production of the article. The author thanks Content Ed Net for providing editorial assistance in the preparation of the article, with funding from Grifols S.A. “
“Measurement of the activity of factor VIII (FVIII:C) is a central component of haemophilia care and is used in the diagnosis of and monitoring following treatment with clotting factor concentrate or desmopressin. Although three different assays (the one and two stage clotting and chromogenic assays) have been available for many years, in practice the one-stage clotting assay predominates worldwide. The dominance of the one-stage assay is the result of the international drive for simplicity, automation and cost control.